AVL Test Systems, Inc. has been awarded the contract to provide electrification and fuel cell testing equipment to Nikola Motor Company for the first phase of its fuel cell development laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona.

Nikola’s new facility will enable development, validation and testing of its entire fuel cell system and vehicle. AVL’s advanced testing hardware—including a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer, fuel cell system testbed, fuel cell durability testbeds, and a high-voltage battery test container—will be run with AVL’s lab management suite, a set of software that acts as the backbone of the entire lab.

This will allow Nikola to test components independently or as a complete powertrain system, providing flexibility and shortening the development process.

AVL has been a long-time leader in fuel cell development for the light-duty industry. Most notably, AVL and HyCentA (Hydrogen Center Austria, TU Graz) commissioned Europe’s most modern fuel cell system integration testbed, a highly dynamic system for a wide spectrum of applications under real load conditions and in dynamic operation.